Call it a Fair Haven of a community giving day.
The folks at Fair Haven Fisk AME Chapel would answer that with an “Amen!” A call for help in sprucing up the chapel that anchors much of Fair Haven’s history, more like its actual roots, was put out and the community heeded it.
Continue reading Scene Around: Painting the Chapel with Community Love Longtime Fair Havenite Marcelline Riley Harris, Willow Street (Sickles) School and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School 1959 graduate, passed away on March 14. She was 84.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Longtime Fair Havenite, RFH ’59 Grad, Marcelline Riley Harris, 84 
A reprise from Feb. 5, 2016 in honor of Juneteenth …
The Fair Haven Fisk AME Chapel is steeped in tradition — Fair Haven tradition and roots that many do not realize jut very deep into the community.
Many of the founding families of Fair Haven have roots that are deeply entrenched in the church. A lot of the names and faces are traceable back to the early days of the church, back in the mid-1800s.
Continue reading Retro Fair Haven Fisk AME Chapel FolksLongtime Fair Haven resident Magnolia “Midge” Edwards Jetter passed away on April 24 at the Atrium in Red Bank. She was 102.
Continue reading Service Set for Fair Haven’s Magnolia ‘Midge’ Edwards Jetter, 102
The Fair Haven Fiske AME Chapel Soul Food Dinner was deemed a success after only a couple of hours — by 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, to be exact.
Oh, the folks at the church may have been a bit worn out by then, but they were still cooking in more ways than one. Even though the ribs sold out completely, chicken was still in the fryer and 66 dinners had been sold. The side dishes were “wiped out,” gone, they said.
It’s no wonder people clamor to feast on the food for this dinner. Sonia Reevey, forever congregant and Fair Havenite, told us the secret is that there is no secret other than good, old fashioned home-cooked food made from special family recipes. “Everyone makes their special dish,” she said. “That’s all. That’s all it takes. We all have something special to cook.”
The ribs, she said, went right away. We were told that the not-so-secret secret to that recipe was a dry rub left overnight in the fridge, then slow baking and special barbecue sauce.
Missed that special treat. But, there was plenty of chicken and the cooks insisted that we try it fresh out of the cast iron skillet. Delicious. Crispy and warm on the outside and moist on the inside. Simple. The seasoning and coating were simple. Nothing overdone.
Call it food fit for the nourishment of the soul. There’s nothing complicated about it. That’s been the recipe for everything at the chapel since the dawn of time in Fair Haven. Hometown comfort food and friends.
Take a look at the photo gallery for a glimpse into the day.
— Elaine Van Develde
By Elaine Van Develde
It was good for the soul. A comforting scent of collard greens, pigs’ feet, chicken and fish filled the air. And there was a hearty helping of Fair Haven families rooted in the borough since the 19th century connecting.
It was Saturday afternoon’s Fisk AME Chapel Soul Food Dinner at the church in Fair Haven.
“We sold out!” one of the organizers cheered. “Seventy dinners!”
That was only a couple of hours after they opened the doors. They were proud and the food was not the only reason why.
The Fisk AME Chapel congregation has been steeped in Fair Haven history since 1858. Named after Civil War hero General Clinton B. Fisk, a “devout Methodist” and champion of civil rights, the first Fisk Chapel in Fair Haven was where Bicentennial Hall now stands.
Before that, the congregation had a church on River Road near what is now the Shrewsbury Yacht Club — then dubbed the Bethel AME Church (congregation).
Fisk, a Union officer, ran President Lincoln’s Freedman’s Bureau when the Civil War ended. He championed equal rights laws for African-Americans and education focusing on special courses about those rights. He ended up living in Rumson.
“Soon after the Civil War and his arrival in Rumson, New Jersey, General Clinton B. Fisk became very interested in the local Black community at Fair Haven village,” a narrative on Facebook compiled by Stacy Harris (a descendent of the well-known Rileys and Browns) said. “Many of his servants were Blacks, and Fisk apparently won the admiration and respect of these employees.”
After a fire destroyed the original Bethel church in 1875 and those in the black community, many of whom were some of Fair Haven’s founding fathers, were forced to make their way to Red Bank to worship, Fisk made sure a chapel was built to quell the difficulty of commuting.
Right before the church was built, he was also instrumental in having what was a school for black children on Fisk Street. It was known for many years as the Youth Center. After the end of segregation, Youth Center was used for kindergarten.
Kids were walked there to school on a rope. But, that’s a whole other story.
Fisk Street Chapel’s Rev. Thomas Johnson was very proud on Saturday, as were all the participating congregants and guests who made the Soul Food Dinner a Success.
Take a look at the photos in the above gallery for a glimpse into the event. Recognize anyone? It’s a pretty sure bet you do, if you’ve lived in the area for any length of time.
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